Friday, February 26, 2010

Every time I start to write my “Ode to Exercise,” which I promised last week (or was it two weeks ago?), it starts out as a history of my exercising patterns. Blech. Who wants to read that?

Instead I decided to do a quick in-a-nutshell recap of exercising then, in between and now…

As a kid: Hated it.

As a teen: Obsessed about it.

As a college student: What is exercise again?

And now…

I don’t know what it is. Some way, some how, I’ve been exercising for nearly a month. I joined a fabulous gym that has group exercise classes, exercise equipment, programs for kids, a water slide, a lazy pool and a lap pool. The best part is membership is only $25 per month. I KNOW, RIGHT?

Miraculously, I’ve been working out 4-5 times a week. A month ago I only averaged 1-2 times per week, if that. Now, almost every morning, I roll myself out of bed, throw on some clothes and partake in the amazingness that is yoga and Pilates. And for variety and cardio I throw in a little walking with the hubby, elliptical and cycling machines.

Wow! I impress myself.

So I am trying to figure out what’s changed? I think my success in all of this is…

1.) Knowing I am paying for it.

2.) The fear of having my coworkers ask if I worked out this morning.

3.) Grace.

Grace should really be #1 on that list. Probably twice a week I wake up and just don’t go or I sleep in. Only once have I felt like a huge failure. Otherwise, I give myself a pep talk which goes something like, “Okay Shawnee, you’re doing awesome. So you’re tired. You’ve already worked out 2 times this week and there are still 4 days left after this. You are doing this for you and you alone.”

I know soon I will have to kick it up a notch, adding in more strength training and cardio, but for now...wow. Did I say that already?

Questions: How many times a week do you work out? How many times would you like to work out?

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

This idea came to me at work, because sometimes I think of things other than what I am doing (or supposed to be). I usually think about food. Of course it doesn't help that an avid foodie (hi Alli) sits in the cubicle across from me. This new recipe is a combination of stuff in my fridge and a "Big Bite" from Guy's Fieri's show on the Food Network.

Prosciutto Wrapped Italian Turkey Patties

(Please excuse the name...I got nothin.)

The ingredients:

1 pound of low fat ground turkey

1/2 cup of sun dried tomatoes

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

3/4 cup spinach

Prosciutto (enough to wrap each patty)

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp Garlic Powder

1 Eggland's Best Egg

I was originally going to use the above ingredients to make turkey burgers and stuff pitas with the burgers. But I went to World Market and found precooked polenta, and I thought that might be an interesting alternative.I also purchased the prosciutto at World Market.

Oh and don't forget an egg! Smoosh it all together until well blended.

Form small patty's together in the palms of your hands (I used a clean coffee scoop to measure the patties). Then, slice your prosciutto lengthwise in half and wrap around each patty. I actually didn't make all the patties with prosciutto, as I wasn't sure how they would turn out. I recommend with the prosciutto.

I got the idea to wrap the turkey with the prosciutto from an episode of "Guy's Big Bite" where he ate dove wrapped in bacon. The bacon helps to prevent the bird from drying out. I figured, turkey is usually dry, maybe this will help...It did.

Fry the patties until cooked through. Cover the patties to keep warm, while you fry the polenta. I have never eaten polenta, nor cooked it. The package said that 2 1/2 slices of polenta was one serving and that you could basically heat it up however you wanted to.

For a sauce I just used some Hunts stewed tomatoes, garlic and basil. I honestly felt like the tomato chunks were too much. A pured sauce would have been better.

Serve with the polenta on the bottom, tomato sauce and the patty on top. Garnish with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese and some sliced spinach (basil would have been fabulous!).

There you have it folks, another new recipe...by me!

Oh and by the way, Maddie wanted to say hi, and she wanted me to tell you she loves her baby. :) *Loves and Hugs*

Monday, February 22, 2010

I still can't find the cord for my cell phone to share my recipe with you. But, I enjoyed my recipe creation so much the first time, I figured, "What the heck? No husband to feed tonight, I'll make it again!"

I've only made carbonara once; about three years ago. When I named this recipe, "My take on Carbonara" that was because I vaguely remember there being egg, cheese, bacon and pasta. Mine doesn't have bacon, but adds avocado for added protein instead. So really, this isn't carbonara at all. It's "Easy-Peasy almost Carbonara."

The ingredients (This will feed one. Double for two, triple for three...you get the idea!):

1 ounce whole wheat rotini (1/2 cup cooked)

1 Eggland's Best Egg

2 tbsp shredded Parmesan

1/4 Haas avocado

Splash of milk

Dash of salt, pepper, garlic powder and paprika.

Directions: Cook pasta until al dente. Remove from heat. Toss pasta with milk, pepper, and garlic powder. Add Parmesan to pasta last to avoid the cheese melting and creating one big cheese blobby.

Simultaneously(while pasta is cooking) fry egg until the yolk is medium-soft. Serve egg, punctured, over pasta. Add sliced avocado and a dusting of paprika.

Serve meal with lightly sauteed spinach and garlic. To make this side heat up 1 tsp olive oil with one small clove of chopped garlic. Throw in spinach, add a pinch of salt and swoosh around a bit.

I don't like squishy spinach, thus "lightly sauteed."

That's it. The point of the dish is to basically mix the egg and avocado in with the pasta. But it wouldn't look nearly as good would it?

One thing I had a problem with was keeping the rest of the meal warm while I made the side. Do you ever have that problem? Do you have any tips for keeping everything warm?

Wishing you all the warmest blessings!

-Shawnee

P.S. I made this meal using Eggland's Best Eggs provided through FoodBuzz and Eggland's Best.

Friday, February 19, 2010

So I still can't find my camera cord to load the pictures for the recipe. However, I do have something fun to share with you.

The other day I decided to do a creative writing prompt. I haven't done one for a really long time. The prompt I randomly chose was "Write about what you'd cook for an enemy." I took the prompt one step further and decided to make a cooking for an enemy tutorial.

I present to you...

Cooking for an Enemy 101 (Muahahaha)

Preparing a meal for an enemy is no simple task. It’s an enchantingly elusive endeavor, which requires much planning and patience in order to secure proper execution. As the host devises a plan to relinquish Karma onto their opposition, he or she must take two important steps in order to deliver a deceptively vindictive feast.

1. First the cook must define their foe. It is worthy to note that there are varying degrees of enemy. For example, if your adversary is a childhood bully who consistently trampled upon your dreams of one day marrying a Backstreet Boy, this would be a lesser degree of enemy than would someone who stole from you. Or perhaps your antagonist is a cheeky sort of fellow who annoys you to no distinguishable end. As you can see, one enemy is far worse than the other.

2. Next our protagonist must devise a scheme. The scheme is broken down into two parts: the meal and the atmosphere.

a. Meal: The point of the meal is not to kill off your enemy with a poisoned glass of wine. Nor is it to feed the man an utterly disgusting dish. These options are much too obvious, not to mention messy. Think of the meal as execution.

Consider a feast of barbeque ribs and corn on the cob. Imagine you’ve invited your childhood nemesis over for a lovely dinner. In front of her you place an appealing and irresistible plate of good ole home cookin’. Half way into her barbeque slathered ribs, she realizes she doesn’t have a napkin. She politely asks you for one. “Sorry,” you respond. She silently complies and dives in to her corn on the cob, which by the way doesn’t have the cute little corn holders. By the end of the dinner she’s covered in barbeque sauce and butter. There’s even a little on her forehead. Vindication never was so delicious!

b. Atmosphere: You may be mulling over what to prepare for your pest of an acquaintance who has too many annoyances to count on all your phalanges*put together. In this case your annoying foe is a vegetarian. The obvious choice is to feed him a meaty meal or a dish that hides the animal all together. In a case like this think in terms of your atmosphere.

Go ahead. Make him a baked Tofurky with vegan Turkey gravy, mashed potatoes and peas. He won’t even be able to swallow when the TV in the family room (only viewable from his seat) displays a wonderful nature show featuring wild felines preying on innocent gazelles. Sit back and revel in the glorious day that is. Vengeance belongs to you my friend.

*Phalanges: A bone of a finger or toe, not just a term Phoebe Buffet created.

The End

Wasn't that fun?

Now, question of the day: What would you cook for someone you just can't stand?

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

This Friday at approximately 11 a.m. our house became a shiny beacon of hope -- A door opening wide into an old world made new. It's a fast paced land where information is magically accessed using only my finger tips and the help of my trusty sidekick, Mouse. That's right! The world-wide-web.

Even with the Internet freshly installed at my home, I failed to make a post. :( I did have hopeful intentions, however. I created a new recipe, my take on Carbonara. I planned to share said recipe with you, but I fear my cord for my cell phone has made itself scarce, probably hiding in a box somewhere.

I also want to share with you all my new found passion for exercise. Yes that's right, I the Ex-Perfectionist, have committed to exercising regularly. And, I've kept it up for more than a couple days.

So in the next few days to come, be prepared for a Shawnee Creation (new recipe), an ode to exercise, and hopefully a review of a really great book.